In 1982, Sue married Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih), a Turkish Cypriot, and gave birth to their first baby Hassan in May 1984.

She has rows with other female residents, including Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), Angie Watts (Anita Dobson), Debbie Wilkins (Shirley Cheriton), Mary Smith (Linda Davidson) and Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully), whom she suspects are trying to seduce her husband, although in truth, all that ever occurs is flirtation.

In June 1985, tragedy strikes for the Osmans when Sue awakes to discover baby Hassan laying motionless in his cot.

Sue and Ali rush his lifeless body to local nurse Andy O'Brien (Ross Davidson), but Hassan is already dead.

Sue eventually manages to come to terms with Hassan's death with the help of Dr Legg (Leonard Fenton), who takes the desperate measure of placing Mary's baby, Annie, in her lap, allowing her, finally, to acknowledge her pent-up sadness.

In September, Sue begins toying with the idea of adopting a Turkish child from Cyprus, which is met with indignation from Ali's family.

Later in the year, Sue grows attached to Ali's nephews and niece when they come to stay with her in Walford, and is saddened when they go home several months later.

Sue decides she wants to move to the Isle of Dogs, thinking that the milder climate may increase her chances of conceiving.

In March 1988, she gives birth to another son, "Little Ali", who is delivered by Lofty Holloway (Tom Watt) and Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard).

Sue Osman was one of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith.

British Sue and her Turkish Cypriot husband Ali, were an attempt to portray a multi-cultural relationship, with an emphasis on conflicting customs, cultural and personality differences.

[2] Sue's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story.

[2] They initially considered casting the role of Sue to Gillian Taylforth, the actress who would go on to play Kathy Beale in the serial.

[2] Sandy Ratcliff (previously a model who was cast as Lord Snowdon's face of the seventies) was recommended for the role by the writer Bill Lyons.

[2] Ratcliff was renowned for being a staunch feminist and a political actress; Holland and Smith initially feared that her own personality and strongly held views would be at odds with the character.

[1] She suggested that Sue was a "moaner" but despite this she "did enjoy life a lot", making reference to her love for her husband Ali (despite his flaws) and her babies as evidence of this.

"[4] Before the show aired, Holland and Smith had already decided that Sue and her husband would be parents to a young baby named Hassan.

During this time in the 1980s, the issue of cot death was prominent in the British press, partly due to an increase in casualties, but also because a doctor had gone public with the accusation that parents were to blame for the tragic occurrence.

After the storyline aired in June 1985, the show was praised by audience and press alike for the sensitive and unsensational way the subject was treated.

The sudden tragedy came as a surprise to the audience, especially since the bereaved parents were a couple whose feuding, fighting ways had made them appear rather comic in the early episodes of the show.

[6] Discussing this in 1987, Ratcliff said, "I knew nothing about the baby plans until a few weeks ago when I came back from my holidays and was told that Sue was pregnant again.

"[6] The character of Sue lasted in the show for four years, and many of her storylines resulted from the after-effects of the cot death plot, including the deterioration of her mental health.

The actress was said to have been exposed to "horrific invasions of privacy" by the media during her tenure, in particular when it was revealed to the press in 1987 that she had spent time in prison for conspiracy to sell cannabis.

[7] Sue was eventually written out of the serial in 1989 following further off-screen personal problems; Ratcliff admitted that she had been a heroin addict for eight years and was spending half her wages on drugs.

[9] Hilary Kingsley has suggested that despite Sue's flaws, due to the skill of Sandy Ratcliff, "you can't help feeling sorry for her".

Discussing the cotdeath storyline, which aired in 1985 in the UK, Roush said, "When tragedy strikes, as in the case of Ali (Nejdet Salih) and jealous wife [Sue] (Sandy Ratcliff), EastEnders becomes achingly believable.

Try to remember the last time you saw soap stars deal with the bureaucracy of registering death certificates and canceling welfare benefits.

I had visions of a bunch of feminists walking into the cafe one day right in the middle of a typical Sue and Ali fight, and them asking her why she puts up with him.